


When Death Came Calling Today

by StrangerInAStrangeLand



Category: Doctor Strange (2016)
Genre: Angst, Lots of Crying, M/M, Stephen is a BAMF tho, and pain, endgame spoilers, with no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 06:24:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19223449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangerInAStrangeLand/pseuds/StrangerInAStrangeLand
Summary: "When death came calling today,I heard the gentle grace of his cadences.I couldn't say no.I couldn't say no..."-- The Mountain Goats, The Coroner's Gambit





	When Death Came Calling Today

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Stephen Strange Bingo with the prompt: Immortal
> 
> I actually had a LOT of fun writing this tbh

The assumption that Stephen Strange was immortal is false. Stephen knew he would have to die one day. He also knew he would have to bequeath his title to someone else one day. He just didn't know that time would be now. 

* * *

  
"Stephen, I can't allow you to go out there."

It was only five months after the Snap Reversal, but the Sorcerer Supreme refused to take a break. He locked out the entire world to focus on his responsibilities. He travelled to dimensions previously unheard of, constantly being tortured limb from limb by all kinds of beasts. 

Wong didn't understand why Stephen was letting himself get hurt like this. But he knew it couldn't last. This man was gonna get himself killed sooner or later, and despite what the world may believe, Stephen Strange was not invincible.

He asked Stephen to take a break. He tried to get him to eat, or sleep, or just take some time to read a book. Anything to get his mind off of killing himself. But Stephen persisted. He continued doing every stupid thing that made him feel alive. He was trying to make it through the year, even if it killed him.

And now, the sorcerer wanted to partake in an extremely risky plan to save the world. 

Dormammu was coming back. And now he had an army. An undead army...with Mordo at the lead. 

Even with the Avengers and the Kamar-Taj students on their side, it still wouldn't be enough to knock him down, let alone kill him. Stephen, being the only one to defeat Dormammu (and even then, he barely raised a finger), had a plan to save the world.

The thing was, that plan involved gambling the entirety of magic on Earth...as well as Stephen's life. 

When he first heard the plan, Wong was understandably horrified by it. He tried to convince Stephen not to do it. He tried his best to convince him that sacrificing himself wasn't the only way. 

They started to argue. He hated arguing with Stephen. Not just because he was so arrogant and stubborn and full of himself, but because he was his friend. And he always hated arguing with a friend. Especially when that very friend was arguing about why they should kill themselves. 

"The universe comes before me. It's not about me!" Stephen yelled for the umpteenth time. 

_'It's not about me, it's not about me, it's not about me'_ like a broken record. Wong knew that's not what The Ancient One meant with her dying words, but he also knew Stephen wouldn't listen to him. 

"Stephen, you can't just keep sacrificing yourself willy-nilly! You're not immortal," Wong yelled, desperately trying to get him to listen. 

"I can if it means everyone is safe," Stephen retorted, turning to meditate in his bedroom. 

Wong, fed up with all this bullshit, ran after him and grabbed Stephen's wrist.

" _Let go of me!_ " Stephen shrieked, momentarily losing his stoic composure as he recoiled from Wong's grip. 

Wong staggered back and instantly felt regret once he saw the fear in Stephen's eyes. He opened his mouth to apologize, but was abruptly cut off by Stephen. 

"You're so... _selfish_ , Wong," he spat out bitterly, cradling his hand. "Wanting me to survive at the expense of humanity. 

That tipped Wong over the edge. 

"Oh, is it SELFISH that I care about you?" He replied. "Look at you! You're tired, you're hurt, your depressed -- and you're doing nothing to care for yourself!"

"That doesn't mean I need you to take care of me like some babysitter!" 

"Well, if you won't, who will?!" 

The debate escalates and escalates even further, until they're screaming at each other for the other to listen to them for once.

Then, Wong yelled over Stephen's self-sacrifical argument, _"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU AGAIN!"_  

And that shut Stephen up. 

All anger washed away from Wong, now replaced with hopelessness. He started shaking, unable to say anything else, but still stared at Stephen with a powerful look that simultaneously said _"I love you"_ and _"Stop talking, dammit"_. With a fragile breath, he continued. 

"I lost you and the Time Stone for five whole years, and suddenly you want to sacrifice yourself again? When I just got you back?" 

Stephen, now guilt-stricken, didn't say anything for a solid minute. Wong just continued to sob silently over the thought of losing his loved one again -- this time, maybe even forever.  

The sorcerer sighed heavily and walked over to him. He gently placed his hands on his shoulders and tipped his chin up. 

"Wong...you're not going to lose me."

He pulled Wong into a hug.

"I _promise_." 

Wong widened his eyes at the sudden embraced. But he quickly reciprocated it as he clutched onto Stephen for dear life and started crying into his shoulder. 

He had been trying not to cry over this stupid argument. He needed to be strong. He needed to be tough. 

But now, in the arms of the man he loved so dearly, the man that left him all of a sudden for five years without so much of an "I love you", he felt desperate. So, so desperate. And he could sense Stephen felt the same, as he could hear the sorcerer sob softly as well, hoping he wouldn't notice. Of course, he noticed, but he just won't tell him that.

He stroked Stephen's hair, silently telling him "I've got you". It had been their first hug since the Snap was reversed, and neither of them realized how much they needed it until now. 

And for a moment, they believed everything would be okay.

* * *

A week later, they initiated the plan. 

They met Dormammu's forces in the remains of the Dream Dimension, the dreaded demon's first target. While their armies rushed into battle, Stephen and Wong exchanged a silent nod and departed. 

As their own makeshift army fought off Dormammu's followers, Stephen began to chant an ancient, extinct language. He suddenly hovered in the air, eyes glowing a raw bloodstone hue, catching the attention of everyone on the battlefield.

 

_"Quis semel indicavit mihi_

 _amet in me volvuntur in mundo fuit,_

 _I Non est instrumentum ad acerbissima_

 _in tugurio...."_

 

The ground began to rumble between the heroes and villains alike. All the magic users suddenly collapsed to their feet, mysteriously weakened. The sky became a glimmering sea of radiant ruby. Everyone took a moment to look up at the sorcerer as he continued his spell.

 _"Non est vultus pius muta_

 _cum eius digito et pollice et similitudo super caput animalium_

 _in Domino et in fronte eius"_

His veins began to pop out of his skin, glowing with the same vigorous green that sprouted from his eyes. Wong tried to ignore the pain of his missing magic as he looked up at Stephen.

Stephen was controlling all the magic on Earth for one single honing attack to permanently depower and kill Dormammu once and for all. He _was_ bleeding magic.

He _was_ magic. 

The magic was intoxicating him. It blazed his skin, and for a moment Stephen thought he was gonna catch fire and burn up right then and there.

But he had to focus. He couldn't lose control now. 

For a moment, he looked down at Wong on the battlefield, and nodded. Hesitantly, Wong nodded back, understanding what he was about to do. 

 _"Heu nunc, tu et omnis stella_

 _ut tuo feras, ut ludere_

 _heu nunc vestri 'a petra stella,_

 _ut vestra show est,_

 _mercedem et omne quod licet_

 _honestum est ..."_

The magic began to fizzle around Stephen's fists, swarming his entire body. He looked over at Dormammu, stunned for the first time since the war began, and aimed all the magic at him. 

 _"Nisi stellas ... **praevaricator fingunt!** "_

With a final cry, Stephen launched all the magic in his palms at the demon. It started pricking at his skin, forming cracks across his arms as he viciously ripped into Dormammu's chest. He felt like a witch being burnt at the stake. The pain was unbearable...but he had to keep going.

"You can do it, Stephen..." Wong whispered, praying he would make it.

Then, the entire world was swarmed in a blinding explosion of emerald magic. 

Wong shielded his eyes from the blast, hoping this was a good thing. When he looked up, Dormammu was reduced to a miserable pile of ashes. 

He smiled brightly. It worked. The plan worked! 

However, his celebration was cut off once he saw Stephen falter in the sky. Suddenly, the sorcerer's eyes rolled back as he collided into the ground. 

 _"STEPHEN!"_

Wong shot up and rushed over to the fallen body. He was limping and cradling his side, but of his pain seemed to disappear as he made his way towards Stephen. 

Once he got there, he felt his heart stop when he saw his body. The sorcerer looked as if he was kissed by the grace of death. 

Stephen was lying on his back, eyes closed, bleeding jade blood from every single limb.  The Cloak wrapped itself around his body, trying to get him to wake up. Wong took his weak physique into his arms and gently shook him. 

"Stephen, wake up, _wake up..._ " 

On a barren and lonely battlefield, Wong cradled a half-dead sorcerer in his arms, limp and barely conscious. Hardly breathing. In the middle of his pleas, he began to cry. 

Eventually, Stephen struggled to open his eyes.

"H-Hey, Wong..." He rasped, wincing in pain. 

Wong looked at him, somewhat relieved he managed to wake up, but also knew it wouldn't last long. He held his back with one arm and took a shaky hand into his. 

"You fool," He spat out through tears. "You knew it would've killed you!" 

"There's always a price...when we use magic," Stephen coughed out. "This is my price."

Wong just continued to sob. Stephen  brought a delicate hand up to his cheek and brushed away his tears. 

"It's okay, it's okay. Come on. Don't cry over me, it's not worth it."

With his last bit of strength, Stephen weakly took off the Eye of Agamotto and placed it in Wong's hands.

"You're the Sorcerer Supreme now. Be careful," He told him. "Just because you're the most powerful sorcerer on Earth now...d-doesn't mean you're immortal. 

Wong shook his head, disregarding the stone. He couldn't accept this. Not now. Not when he just got him back. 

"Stephen, please..." 

"Wong..."

 _"I can't lose you again!"_

Stephen tried to muster a smile as he let out a pained chuckle. He brushed his hand over Wong's one last time.

"I love you." 

With that, his eyes finally closed, and his head fell into Wong's chest. His face was engraved with an eternal smile. Wong could feel his magic return to him as Stephen Strange left their realm. 

And like that, the Sorcerer Supreme was gone. 

Wong caressed the Eye of Agamotto and clutched onto Stephen for dear life. The Cloak left the corpse and hung onto Wong's shoulders, trying to console him. Both of them were grieving, but now they only had each other. 

As tears ran down his face again, Wong lowered his forehead onto Stephen's deathly cold skin. 

" _You_ **_promised_**."

* * *

The Sorcerer Supreme was not immortal. He was vulnerable, he was weak, he was human. But in those vulnerable moments, he found love. In the weak moments, he found strength. And in his moments of humanity, he found the most powerful magic that could ever be.

Love.

Stephen Strange was not immortal. But their love would always be.

 

**Author's Note:**

> "And I'm sorry I couldn't.  
> You know how badly I wanted to.  
> I didn't want, didn't want, didn't want, didn't want,  
> Didn't want to lose you."


End file.
